Alistair Overeem had to hold on for dear life at the end, but his reward for making it the distance was victory even after a shaky final round against Fabricio Werdum.

After controlling most of the first two rounds, Overeem (43-15 MMA, 8-4 UFC) was fortunate to survive after a late surge from Werdum (21-7-1 MMA, 9-4 UFC), hanging on to win a majority decision victory with scores of 28-28, 29-28, and 29-28.

The heavyweight bout was part of the main card of today’s UFC 213 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

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For two fighters who know each other well, Overeem and Werdum certainly took a long time feeling one another out to start their rubber match. That may have been more to Overeem’s advantage, as he hung back and looked to counter a somewhat hesitant Werdum, which in turn led to Overeem scoring the crisper and more significant blows early on.

After getting stung by Overeem in the second frame, Werdum resorted to similar tactics as those he used in their second meeting, twice flopping to guard in an effort to engage Overeem in a grappling battle. Overeem obliged him, but briefly, and Werdum was never able to capitalize on having Overeem in his guard.

In the final round, however, Werdum’s offense on the feet finally began to bear fruit. After hurting Overeem with punches and knees, he dropped him momentarily and then pursued a wobbly Overeem across the cage, looking for the finish. But rather than pour on the punishment with strikes while standing, Werdum opted to take Overeem down midway through the round.

The takedown was successful, but Werdum’s offense soon stalled as Overeem held on and clung to Werdum in his guard as his last line of defense. Werdum was content to while away the final seconds with thumping body strikes, but it wasn’t enough to make his case to the judges.

Once the final horn sounded, two judges had the fight in favor of Overeem while one scored it a draw, netting Overeem the win via majority decision.

“I feel great with the win tonight,” Overeem said. “I felt I was clearly the dominant fighter in the first two rounds. Round 3 was a little tough, but I knew I had controlled the fight before then. Werdum is tough, but I was the better man tonight. With that win, my next move is clear: I am ready for Stipe (Miocic) and I will take the championship.”

Overeem has now won two in a row in the UFC. Werdum has lost two of his last three.